Shloka 15
Ācāra-vidhi (Rules of Conduct) — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Catalogue
प्रस्थिता हृदयात् सर्वे तिर्यगूर्ध्वमधस्तथा । वहन्त्यन्नरसात् नाड्यो दश प्राणप्रचोदिता:
prasthitā hṛdayāt sarve tiryagūrdhvamadhastathā | vahanty annarasāt nāḍyo daśa prāṇapracoditāḥ ||
Dijo Bharadvāja: Desde el corazón parten todos—hacia los lados, hacia arriba y hacia abajo. Impulsadas por los diez aires vitales, las nāḍī llevan por todo el cuerpo la esencia nutritiva extraída del alimento.
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Life is sustained through an organized inner system: from the heart, channels (nāḍīs) distribute nourishment, and this circulation is powered by the vital airs (prāṇas). The verse points to harmony of bodily functions as a basis for steadiness in dharma and disciplined living.
In a didactic discussion on the body and vital functions, Bharadvāja explains how the nāḍīs emanating from the heart move in all directions and, propelled by the ten prāṇas, carry the nutritive essence of food throughout the organism.